Remember When Kerry Opened For Me At BlogHer? The Video of My Talk is Here!
Remember that time when I went to BlogHer and at first I was going to open for Kerry Washington but she ended up opening for me? YESSSSS! You remember. That was last month.
I got on the main stage and talked about being authentically myself online, how I play with language (check out the Luvvie Glossary) and how I speak up even when it’s hard. My presentation was full of GIFs, of course, but you don’t get to see those.
Check out the video below!
Thank you to BlogHer for the opportunity to stand on the main stage. This was an absolute blast. This video takes me right back to that day and I’m fist pumping still because of the love that I got when I stepped off the stage.
What I do is speak my truth and stand in it. My goal is not to ruffle feathers. My goal is NOT to NOT ruffle feathers. My goal is to speak truth to my own power.
Being outspoken, being a woman and being Black can be a professional and personal risk but I do it because this is who I am and I don’t apologize for it. I always ask myself “Have you spoken your truth even when it makes your voice shake?” And I always say “yes.” Then I look in the mirror and high-five myself.
When I was asked to be a part of this 10×10 project, it was like onion-cutting ninjas descended upon my house. Those weren’t tears and anyone who says so are trying to compromise my thug. It was a full circle moment for me and it showed that the spaces that I think I might talk myself out of aren’t as important as the ones I find myself in. And it’s confirmation that breaking the rules sometimes comes with great rewards.
For me, what’s magic is that I am able to be multi-faceted, multi-passionate and multi-amazing. In me being unapologetically myself, I really hope it inspires someone else to find strength to do the same.
By the way, Demetria Lucas interviewed Kerry Washington for the keynote and that video is on ABelleinBrooklyn.com. Check out that awesomeness. And I already did a recap of my BlogHer 2014 experience, in case you missed it.
7 Comments
Yes! This was a highlight of BlogHer for me. Love that you are “unapologetically” you and encourage others to do the same. And Kerry did an awesome job opening for you…LOL
Definitely one of the five most awesome selfies of the year.
I cried when I saw the selfie. I ant gonna lie. I know a blessing when I see it. I enjoy the recaps, the family fracas, and other tomfoolery. My cronies and I lament that we have lost our sense of humor. That little thing that got us through tough times. My Luvvie you give joy. You also instruct through your humor( & other venues). You are not a thug, you are a warrior!
That’s beautiful, RonicaOne01!
In the immortal words of Kanye (as told by Dave Chapelle).
..”Because my life is dope..and I do dope sh*t”
(If that isnt proprietary we NEED a shirt that says that LOL)
Your life is amazing. enviable and beyond blessed! Kudos to you! Tell em to “get on ya level”!
Longtime reader (and fellow Chicagoan)–so proud of you Luvvie!!!
Luvvie, thank you so much for this post. I enjoyed your video. I need to embrace my writing and *myself*, and keep moving forward!